1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing condition setting apparatus for setting an image processing condition representative of contents of an image processing, which is used in an image processing apparatus for applying an image processing to an image obtained, and an image processing condition setting program storage medium storing an image processing condition setting program which causes a computer system to operate as the image processing condition setting apparatus when the image processing condition setting program is executed by the computer system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, it is widely performed that a printed matter is produced by a printing machine in accordance with an original image obtained through reading a document image by a scanner for example. In a producing process of the printed matter, in order to obtain a good finished image for the original image, usually, an image processing is applied to the original image. The image processing is performed in accordance with a predetermined image processing condition (condition representative of contents of the image processing). When the image processing condition is suitably set, an operator can apply a desired image processing to the original image.
This image processing condition includes, for example, factors representative of curvatures of a highlight curve, a half tone curve and a shadow curve, which represent a transformation relation between density of an image before the image processing and density of an image after the image processing.
In a producing process of the printed matter, as an apparatus for setting such an image processing condition, there is used an image processing condition setting apparatus. As such an image processing condition setting apparatus, there is known an apparatus in which an original image is analyzed, and an image processing condition, which is considered as the optimal one for the original image, is automatically computed and set up in accordance with the analyzed result.
For example, such an image processing condition setting apparatus produces a density profile representative of a density distribution of an image from an image before the processing, and automatically computes a value which is considered to be the optimum one of the factor representative of the curvature of the highlight curve.
However, it happens that a tendency of the image processing is out of an operator's intention, for example, in such a way that an image, which is obtained through the image processing based on the image processing condition automatically computed and set up in the manner as mentioned above, is always slightly dark, or always different from the operator's wish in choice of greens. Thus, there is a requirement to adjust a discrepancy of such a tendency of the image processing.
It is possible to adjust the discrepancy of the tendency of the image processing by rewriting the program for computing the image processing condition. However, in many cases, there is a need to repeat over and over trial and error as to whether the image processing condition computed by the rewritten program meets the image processing intended by the operator. This takes a lot of time and labor.
On the other hand, in the event that the image processing condition is manually controlled and set up, without performing such an automatic computation of the image processing condition, it is possible to obtain a desired image. However, in this case, it is necessary to manually adjust one by one factors representative of curvatures of the highlight curve and the like. This needs skills of a technique of setting of the image processing condition. It is difficult for a general operator to suitably perform setting of the image processing condition.